Makes it look weird!!

Morning all!
Last year my compost in this rainwater tank was superb, rich and crumbly, full of trace elements and alive with microbes.This is the start (June 2018) of the fermentation this year.

vanozzi said:Morning all!
Last year my compost in this rainwater tank was superb, rich and crumbly, full of trace elements and alive with microbes.This is the start (June 2018) of the fermentation this year.

Excellent!!

Sounds like you're ready for spring planting.

My patch is evolving as the years are rolling by.Some things have had to be dropped, either lost interest, or just can't keep up, probably age related issues play a more prominent part now.I guess I'm in good company there!
So what has been happening lately?
My main veg patch needed a major boost ,I thought.So even though I rotate crops and am heavily into growing masses of green manure, It would still benefit with more compost, which I never have enough of.As my active years are dwindling, I decided to buy in some compost.
Around here, some farmers buy large quantities of compost made from council green waste and other stuff.I purchased 16 cu metres, 6 went direct onto the veg patch, 2 went into the bulb area and carnations rows and a further 8 went to developing a new area, nicked top paddock 1.




Oats plus my saved broad beans were sown which are about a metre tall.Here is a pic of them 2 months ago.They will be cut down in maybe another month.More on that area later.

I needed to break some new ground at the top of my property and for this area I decided to try and sow oats and broad beens direct into established pasture WITHOUT the use of round up.I still use round up BTW, but much less than before.
I hand broad cast oats, then broad beans over the green pasture and rotary tilled them in, not deeply, but enough to get soil contact.I use my trusty Kubota 7 HP rotary hoe.

The compost in my previous post was used heavily, covering the seed and pasture maybe not more than 3 inches.







Germination was good, but there are parts that need attention before future veg yield will be satisfactory.
3 years ago, I removed 16 HUGE cypress trees along the boundary and put in the new fence.Cypress trees seem to have a negative effect on the soil.Also the bloke operating the 20 ton excavator scooped top soil to fill the craters where the trees were ripped out.To compound the issue, there is a partially covered stone laneway leading to my old dairy.You can see where this is by the sparsely grown green crop.
There is a second area here that I'll post about, but I have to get moving and put a second copper spray on my fruit trees.The first was washed off with a shower a few days ago, but today is clear, a beautiful 18 c with light winds.The only fruit tree to have bud burst and in flower now, is my narrabeen plum, a Japanese variety, that does not gain full sweetness under my conditions.Well grown this plum is very nice.

Paul, your place is beautiful and you seem to have things well planned out.

Rita, I don't know about having things well planned out, I seem to be forever chasing my tail, and yes Carol, moving close to spring planting.
In the past, I have mostly bought my veg seedlings when my beds are ready and the season is right.
I, as an avid amateur plant breeder have so much on the go that I know it is all going to come to a great screaming holt.Not because of lost interest, just my aging body can't keep up.We in Australia don't have your extreme cold, but this winter, I found that to keep warm while working, I had 3 jumpers on and even still had to resort to my once much loved, 40 year old leather jacket.Now that I'm shrinking, I can fit back into it I dable in japanese, siberian, californian, TB,Dutch iris, carnations and pinks, liliums, daffodils, all sorts of small bulbs, begonias, both cane and tuberous,plus cymbidiums.The orchard has 25 varieties of apple (23 on dwarf root stock) 2 olives, 5 grape, 5 cherries, 4 Japanese plums, 2 apricots (double graft tree), 1 nectarine, 3 peaches and one lemon.So, quite a lot of work for an old fart, or even a younger one!
So what is going on?
This year, I'd like to raise all my own veg seedlings and try out other cultivars, rather than the usual bought stuff.All the excess produce is welcomed by welfare food banks.
The tomato seeds were all sown indoors on 10 Aug and heat applied.3 seeds of each were sown. Also sweet bell capsicums went in on the same day, but 6 seeds of each variety were sown.I love bell capsicums and even eat them like an apple!
This is what was sown.

Grosse Lisse (Australia's long time favourite home grown tom.)
Rouge de Marmande
Roma
Oxheart
Mortgage Lifter
Mary Italian
Cherokee Purple
Black Cherry
Beefsteak
Brandywine
Amish Paste

Capsicums

Yolo Wonder
Chocolate
Californian Wonder
My own saved seed

Germination was good except for Oxheart, which I've resown.

Going to be a fabulous veggie garden!!

The oats and broad bean green manure crop in veggie patch 1 was mature enough to cut down this week and the weather was agreeable.





After slashing with a whipper snipper--haven't got a scythe!


I wanted to incorporate about half of the green matter into the soil, so, with a razor sharp spade, and fortified with porridge and honey, I set about doing a rough dig.Took me some time, let me tell you, it was pitch dark when I staggered in at 7 PM.

vanozzi said:The oats and broad bean green manure crop in veggie patch 1 was mature enough to cut down this week and the weather was agreeable.





After slashing with a whipper snipper--haven't got a scythe!


I wanted to incorporate about half of the green matter into the soil, so, with a razor sharp spade, and fortified with porridge and honey, I set about doing a rough dig.Took me some time, let me tell you, it was pitch dark when I staggered in at 7 PM.

Wow!!! Some job. That sure is a lot of work. Great for the soil though. Fantastic job!!

Sowed 10 varieties of runner beans today around the stock panels by the old dairy.I've build up soil to 20 cms on the concrete apron and it will be interesting to see which ones perform the best under my conditions.I still have to extend the height of the panels and may even put shade cloth up in an attempt to modify the strongest sea gales.I have many Japanese iris seedlings in this area so it will be a double wammy.Not sure if this will be seriously detrimental to the beans.Time will tell.Planted a row of Pak Choi seed and cut back some of the other green manure growing close to a row of peas.





Peas


Japanese plum blossom

You have more energy than I do!! Great job.

Well, twelve days have passed and not a single bean has popped up.Weather has been up and down, high of 21c, mostly about 16c day maxs.Have now erected the bean support and attached shade cloth for some wind filtering.


Began action in veg plot 1.
Sweet corn has been sown and a second batch of brassica seedlings planted.These were slipped in between the oat/broad bean mulch, together with a half litre compost per seedling and 2 bags of fresh seaweed collected yesterday was laid down also.

A new batch of leeks was transplanted to a poly box as I think I would lose too many at this stage planted into the mulch.I've fertilized them with my seaweed concoction.The other type of leek that I have is a perennial leek and I've been enjoying them together with potatoes as potato and leek soup.

Hope your bean seeds didn't rot. They hate cold ground.

Amazing, Paul.

G'day Rita and Glen.
well Rita, most of the bean seed did rot and only 3 varieties have emerged, so I have resown them indoors in individual pots.I have started a more comprehensive planting chart and have entered those details, whereas my usual method is a running log book recording my daily preamble.Quite useful for everything, but I want more info!Like seed or plant, what spacing. what variety, date planted, date harvested etc.I'm sure you all have such a system?

Glen, are you still getting flying fox visits.I noticed it was about this time you were losing papaya to the buggers.What other soft fruit do you grow? Any avocado?I have a seedling avocado about to flower now, it won't come to anything as I have no pollinator and as they grow into magnificent large trees, I don't have the room.Besides my location isn't suitable for them and, the dammed possums would get the lot anyway!

Started erecting the new wind break and tomato trellising.Putting it in with a hand auger 10 ft and 8ft kopper logs and will attach heavy duty steel mesh along with shade mesh .
So I'm pretty worn out and about to crawl into bed.Will post some pics later on.In the meantime, here is a nectarine I was going to have for breakfast late last summer, but the possum got there first.

Yup, those beans are easy and fast in warm soil but they sure do rot in cold soil. So really no advantage in hurrying to get them planted.

Around here the larger nurseries in the spring sell bean transplants. It surprises me as bean seeds are so easy and fast I see no need for plants.

Paul, your' avocado tree might just surprise you and give you fruit. I know seedlings may not, but sometimes they do. I had a pinkerton that I planted from seed. It came true to type and the last year before I removed it, I got over 300 large avocados from it. Made lots of neighbors happy! Keep in mind that avocados don't ripen on the tree, so the varmints leave them alone until they drop. I used to leave any that got damaged in the fall for the possum, and it didn't bother with them until they got soft.

That's some feat Carol, growing an avocado from seed to a 300 fruit harvest I have trouble even writing avocado, I keep wanting to put a ''d'' and a ''r '' in there! My natural soil is not deep here, except in my built up veggie beds and also I have surface water during the winter, so it could suffer root rot.On top of that, the winter gales are salt ladden and the trees would't appreciate that, though I did read somewhere that there is a variety that is suitable for coastal planting.
Possums here are soul destroying, they even strip the lemons of rind during the winter.Come summer, they get almost all my plums and every single apricot and in doing so, break the permanent fruit spures.After the harvest they start stripping the leaves.
I use 3 traps constantly set, but the current lot are very evasive.I relocate any that I catch.